The quest for the magic formula that would create peace, happiness and joy has preoccupied human minds for many centuries. In most stories of magical transformation, you drink a secret formula and all is well. You could argue that opium comes close to the idea of a perfect euphoriant, but opium users lose interest in all other life’s activities and spend their all their days lying on a couch smoking poppy resin. For the occasional drinker, a single glass of wine can feel relaxing, but many drinks switches on bad feelings and the worst behaviors.

Antidepressants are advertised now as the legal version of opium – drugs that can make bad experiences disappear and restore euphoria – a realistic promise? Definitely not. Recent marketing frenzy has also produced a host of “cognitive and memory enhancing” products that do not work, but answer an obvious desire to improve brain function and to prevent the dementias of aging.

My approach to finding sanity and happiness is more practical and more realistic. To restore a sense of well-being, you need to remove noise, confusion and bad chemicals that create brain problems from the diet, drug store and the environment.

The next strategy is to provide all the nutrients that the brain needs to function well in the right proportion. There are many variables in prescribing an optimal nutrient-intake. Intake levels cannot be predicted accurately  without specific information about individuals. There is no technology that allows us to quickly and precisely define individual nutrient needs.  Instead there are some general principles to follow. Proper nutrient intake must be custom-fitted to each individual using the Alpha Nutrition Program as a guide.

The serum nutrient levels measured regularly are sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, vitamin B 12 and folic acid.  Other mineral levels such as copper, manganese, and zinc are measured in unusual situations. Even knowing blood nutrient levels, we still cannot assess the concentration within brain cells or the metabolic effectiveness of a nutrient.  Lacking specific, affordable, available metabolic assessment technologies, I advocate a thoughtful trial and error approach to individual nutrient-intake evaluation, as well as nutrient supplementation. The intake goal is to achieve nutrient levels within an optimal range.

While, in theory, all nutrients are best delivered in food, in practice, it is seldom possible to balance all nutrient levels within the optimal range by manipulating food choices alone. Nutrient proportioning is another important principle of food selection.  The need for each nutrient varies with the supply of other nutrients.  The evaluation of proper proportioning for individual needs is a frontier for NP. The flow of nutrients may be compared to a harmonic structure, which produces positive or negative resonance in a given individual. 

To define what illnesses are food-related, a precise tool is needed. Allergists were among the first physicians to be interested in completely controlling the food supply, and some used a chemically defined set of nutrients to replace food. The nutrient set seemed the most definitive of all diet revision experiments. Nutrient formulas that could replace food completely had first been used in research and hospital applications. These formulas were known as chemically defined diets, elemental diets or elemental nutrient formulas - ENFs. Several studies have demonstrated normal functioning with health benefits for volunteers living on ENFs for weeks at a time.

We rely on Alpha ENF to supply complete nutrition on a food holiday and it remains the formula of choice for meal replacement long term. For most people following the Alpha Nutrition Program, Alpha ENF is the complete nutrient set formulated by assembling nutrients into modules that supply energy, electrolytes, antioxidants, phosphate, vitamins, minerals, neurotransmitter substrates and amino acids as the protein building blocks.

In the tradition of elemental formulas, I also developed Alpha BMX to supply the most critical nutrient set for brain function, and to act as a partial meal replacement formula. BMX is designed to achieve a high nutrient density with therapeutic levels of key brain nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, folic acid, thiamine, vitamin B₁₂, niacinamide, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, and vitamin E.  All vitamins and minerals except sodium are provided at or above the recommended daily intake. BMX replaces protein with a complete set of l-form amino acids.

Amino acids are critical for normal brain function. These are usually obtained by digesting food proteins, producing a lottery selection of amino acids that can be quite disproportionate. The proportioning of amino acid intake influences brain function by determination of neurotransmitter synthesis. An amino acid profile may be invented for different moods, levels of energy, exertion, and so on.

Alpha BMX is mixed with fruit juices in the blender to make pleasant drinks. Alpha BMX will turn any fruit or vegetable juice into a complete meal. The formula works best if it is taken with little or no other food. The chief advantages of Alpha BMX are:

1. complete nutrient intake of vitamins, minerals and amino acids
2. high nutrient density is provided
3. automatically fixes any nutrient deficiencies in existing diet
4. ingredients minimize problems associated with food allergy
5. high solubility preparation to increase nutrient absorption
6. no digestion required, ideal for digestive tract diseases

The Brain Mind Center

Topics from the book,  The Human Brain by Stephen Gislason MD

Further reading:   Alpha Nutrition Program, Neuroscience Notes,  Intelligence and Learning

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Human Brain in Health and Disease

Neuroscience Notes

Learn More about Alpha BMX, elemental nutrient formula.

Two Books Alpha Nutrition Program, Human Brain and the Alpha Alpha BX formula are bundled as the Brain Rescue Starter Pack, available online at a  discount. More Information about the Brain Starter Pack.    

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